Rod Roddy

American Radio and Television Announcer. He is probably best remembered for his signature line, “Come on down!” from “The Price Is Right” morning television game show, although the phrase was originated and made popular by his predecessor Johnny Olson. Born Robert Ray Roddy in Fort Worth, Texas, he graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and became a disc jockey and talk show host on KLIF and KNUS-FM radio in Dallas, Texas. Later he worked at the Buffalo, New York radio station WKBW-AM and at other high-profile stations. In the 1970s he returned to KLIF and KNUS where he hosted a call-in program, “Rod Roddy’s Hotline,” whose controversial host and topics made him a frequent target of death threats. From 1977 to 1981 he announced the situation television comedy “Soap,” where he provided the opening and closing narration: “Confused? You won’t be after this week’s episode of Soap!”. He replaced Casey Kasem who quit the series after the pilot due to the adult themes the show promoted. His first work as a game show announcer was on “Whew!” which aired from 1979 to 1980. From there, he went on to announce several other game shows, including “Battlestars” (1981-1982), “Hit Man’ (1983), “Love Connection” (1983-1986), and “Press Your Luck” (1983-1986). Additionally, he voiced a number of national television commercials, including those for Pennzoil and Public Storage. After Goodson-Todman announcer Johnny Olson died in October 1985, he was selected as one of several substitute announcers for “The Price Is Right.” Despite only announcing for six episodes (the least of the four), on February 17, 1986 he was proclaimed as the show’s regular announcer. He also was the announcer on Tom Kennedy’s Nighttime “Price Is Right” after Olson’s death. Hey was noted for wearing brightly colored and sequined sport jackets, a practice he first adopted as a trademark when making personal appearances emceeing teen dances and concerts for WKBW Radio in Buffalo in the 1960s. He later adopted a rigorous diet and exercise program. Overweight for much of his adult life, the program resulted in his loss of close to 200 pounds. With his weight-loss regimen becoming a much-lauded success, he was frequently shown on-camera while he announced “the next contestant on The Price Is Right”, and was occasionally featured in Showcase skits aiding the “Barker’s Beauties”. Beginning in Season 31, his on-air camera appearances were eliminated from the show, under the claim that it was against the show distributor’s (FreemantleMedia for CBS) policy for announcers to appear on camera during any of its game shows. Later, insiders speculated that a falling-out between him and show host Bob Barker was the real reason he only ever appeared once more, briefly, on the Season 32 premiere after his return from a lengthy absence. As an actor, he appeared in episodes of television’s “That 70s Show” and “Martial Law.” He also did the voice of ‘Mike’ in the cartoon series, “The House Of Mouse” in 2001, and the movie, “Mickey’s House of Villains” in 2002, and appeared in the 1975 film, “Posse From Heaven.” In September 2001, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He took a leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery and chemotherapy, and returned a month later. A year later, the colon cancer returned, and he temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery in September 2002 and recovered within a month. In March 2003 he was diagnosed with male breast cancer, underwent surgery and afterwards, experienced major complications. As a result, he was unable to announce for “The Price Is Right” for the rest of Season 31. The diagnoses led to his becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years. Despite his illness for over two years, he continued to announce for “The Price Is Right” for as long as he was able to, up until his last hospitalization two months before his death. He was eventually replaced by Rich Fields in April 2004. His final announced episode aired on October 20, 2003, just one week before his death from cancer in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 66.